🐾 Penn State 🐾 Early Action Class of 2030 Official Thread

[MYOS1634]

EA means by Nov 1.

Rolling means after Nov1, competing for the spots left over after the EA decisions have been released.
They used to have a Priority deadline on Dec1 with decision in January but they just got rid of it.
That being said, last year they simply marked as EA all applications that were complete by Nov1 even if the applicant had checked Rolling but in previous years they didn’t do that and applicants had to call to rectify the matter.

Make sure test scores are sent early because if they’re received after Nov 1, in the past the application was pushed to the Priority round and now they’d be pushed to the Regular/Modified Rolling round.

The SRAR needs time to be processed and ever since they introduced that tool, which helps them compare apples and oranges in terms of HS curriculum&rigor, there have been students who thought submitting it by November 1 would be fine… When in reality it needed to have been processed by that date. As a result, I would strongly recommend the SRAR is completed by Oct 15 and a parent review it before submitting.
Remember to include HS classes taken in Middle School (Algebra1, Geometry, Biology, Foreign Language 1..) if they count toward HS graduation, including when counting how many “years” you’ve had in each subject.
(“year” here means a full Carnegie Unit, so either one semester/block course in Block scheduling or two semesters in “regular” scheduling.)
An extra pair of eyes to review this is very important because just skipping a line or forgetting something can mean a difference in the way the transcript is formatted and evaluated. Start as soon as your Senior Schedule is available (request an unofficial transcript if you don’t have access to one. There’s no reason to wait till the last minute, it’s a step that can be completed before school starts.

[LAP25]

Is there any disadvantage to apply DUS? My daughter was going to apply as a biochemistry major but is really not thrilled with the Calculus-based Physics requirement

She did get her SAT up to 1440 (770 Math, 670 verbal) so she’s done with that.

[MYOS1634]

No, there is no disadvantage to applying as DUS except if interested in Smeal. Your daughter could have a first semester that covers various Eberly, EMS, and AG requirements in order to pivot easily (basically, Chem 110-111, Math 140, English 15 or 30H, and a gen Ed of interest .)
Here are three possible majors, with the first much in demand professionally.

https://agsci.psu.edu/academics/undergraduate/majors/food-science

https://agsci.psu.edu/academics/undergraduate/majors/pharmacology-and-toxicology

Undergraduate Degree Programs - BIOTC - CLS | Eberly College of Science

Fron the Recommended Academic Plans, you can see none of the above require Calc based (Engineering) Physics but rather Physics for life sciences.
For example:

Biotechnology, B.S. | Penn State

[mattg4]

Are different majors in certain colleges easier to get into main campus than others? For instance, is turfgrass easier than agribusiness management?

[MYOS1634]

Agribusiness is easier to get into than Turfgrass management - mostly because few students know about it and its excellent professional outcomes- whereas Turfgrass management is very niche and attracts people who want to work for pro teams or golf courses so admissions could be easy or very hard.
Geography is easier to get into than Material Engineering (you need a half unit of precalculus for both but really for best results the former expects precalculus and statistics whereas the latter expects precalculus honors or calculus). Or HDFS compared to BBH.
Caveat: I’m using previous years here, it could be different this year.

[momsons2]

Thank you for these suggestions. My kid checked it out and liked both Biotechnology and Pharmacology & Toxicology majors. It seems though his Cs in Chemistry Hons might be a big negative when applying for Pharmacology & Toxicology Major. On the other hand, Biotechnology major is in Eberly which is going to be harder to get into as it is.
Any ideas on which one would be a better option if he likes both ?
Of course there is always DUS if he can’t really decide on a major.

[MYOS1634]

The C in Chem means he doesn’t have the background (knowledge/skills 100% mastered) that students need for Chem 110, a weed out class even students with As in HS Chem find really hard, so he’d have to take an intro to chem class over the summer (or in the Fall, with Chem 110-111 the following semester). That applies to any major that requires chemistry.
Perhaps applying DUS would be the solution because I think majors that require chemistry are going to check HS chem grades (and probably math rigor, grades, and test scores).

[Mountaineer2004]

@MYOS1634

Email Admissions to ask if they prefer AP scores to be sent directly or if they use the self reported scores from the CommonApp because I don’t know for sure.
If you hear back, would you be kind enough to post whether they have a preference or require one over the other?

Reporting back now that we have received a response from admissions…
They didn’t directly say that AP scores are not considered in admission decisions. But they said that for admission purposes, they will use the grades in AP classes as entered into the SRAR (now STARS?). And, if admitted, then they will use the official score report to award credit.

[MYOS1634]

Thank you very much.

[mc2024]

Penn State main has been my son’s dream school since he was little. He’s a double legacy and we are sad that is no longer considered. His hope is to major in Marketing, but not sure if Smeal will be in the cards given a 4.1 GPA, test optional and out of state.

Now that they’ve removed the supplemental essay on the common app, he’s wondering if he should apply directly through the Penn State website so he can submit an essay that expresses his love of the school. The CDS states that the essays are not considered so I’m wondering if this extra step would be a waste of time. Trying to balance creating the strongest application while not inconveniencing the teachers writing recommendations since the common app is a one stop shop for them. Thanks for any advice you may have.

[MYOS1634]

What’s his unweighted GPA?

What will his senior schedule look like? Has he taken or is he taking Precalculus (honors) or calculus (honors or AP)? Will he reach level 3 or 4 in a single foreign language?

Why Marketing? Why at PSU? He would need to know that.
(BTW, as a major, it’s best paired with a Statistics or Data Science or IST minor.)
Starting this year, an applicant interested in Marketing should apply to Smeal straight out of HS. If they don’t get into UP Summer or Fall, they can ask for reconsideration and another major (Communication, for instance, or DUS if they hope to pivot to Marketing after completing all pre-reqs, keeping in mind starting this year DUS students who completed the pre-reqs are only allowed into majors that still have space after the Smeal direct admits had their pick. )

The PSU app doesn’t require any teacher recommendation and he would enter his transcript as the STAR (Self-reported Transcript and Academic Record). Only Schreyer would require a recommendation from a teacher.

[mc2024]

Senior schedule has DE English, DE Geospatial Science, AP Stats, AP Human Geography, Advanced Marketing and another elective. He completed AP Calculus AB in his junior year and went through Spanish 3.

His school is transitioning into an IB school so they’re removing a lot of AP and DE classes and they had to re-align their schedules which caused issues for both history and science classes during senior year (only class of 2026 will be impacted). They also removed AP Calc BC because of IB so my son will be taking Calculus at the local community college and I have already verified it would transfer to PSU as Math 140.

He’s very involved in DECA (high school marketing program) and has competed on the state and national level which is why he wants to study Marketing.

My real concern is the essay. He’s already written his common app essay, just trying to see if he should sub it out for a PSU specific essay. Has anyone heard from admissions reps if they consider the essay? CDS states they don’t, but it seems from reading previous threads that the why PSU essay is important.

[Beth4]

They got rid of the why Penn state essay this year

[MYOS1634]

The weird thing is that there’s an option not to request the essay in CommonApp (many colleges simply leave it optional, others don’t take it, just like for recommendations or transcript replaced by SRAR/STARS) but PSU opted in for the CommonApp essay even though I’m not sure how they use it.

This is what the official website states, emphasis mine:

"
MyPennState Application: If applying in MyPennState, you will have access to the entire application, including the Self-reported Transcript and Academic Record System (STARS) Record, in one place. Your application can be saved at each step of the process, which allows you to move back and forth through the application or log off and return to complete the application later.

Common App Application: If you are using the Common App, then applying to Penn State will be a two-part process. Once you complete your application in the Common App, we will send you an email directing you to MyPennState to complete the STARS Record. Your MyPennState account will be created for you, and the email you receive will provide access to your MyPennState account. Do not create a separate MyPennState account as this will delay the processing of your application."

Then they clearly state they do not take the CommonApp transcript uploaded by the HS.

“Penn State requires the completion of the STARS Record via MyPennState and does not accept the high school record that is available in the Common App.”

But there’s no such language for the PSU statement/CommonApp essay:
“Lastly, you can complete the optional Activities section and Personal Statement within the application. If you apply via the Common App, we will accept your Common App Essay as your Penn State Personal Statement.”

More official language:
"Penn State’s assessment of application materials includes the academic courses, grades, and levels of those courses for years 9-11 and standardized test scores, if provided. "
→ the main category relevant for admission. Although the decision is 2/3 GPA×rigor and 1/3 is test scores, statement, activities, etc., clearly “test scores” if provided are a big chunk of that 1/3 and not in the same category as other factors.
Further down they say Math (courses, results, and scores) is scrutinized for STEM/Smeal.
Then ..

“Additional factors may include an audition, a portfolio review, the personal statement, and the activities list. We take a hard look at the many roles you serve as a student, sibling, athlete, son or daughter, volunteer, and/or employee.”

I read this as “we don’t require it but if submitted we’ll read it and may or may not use it”, not as “not considered”…despite the CDS!
If someone doesn’t want to use their CommonApp essay then they should use the PSU app, keeping in mind it may or may not be used (my understanding had been that the statement didn’t matter for high stats applicants nor for students who didn’t meet whatever their criteria were that year for each college/major - if on rigor&stats you’re clearly qualified or unqualified the essay won’t change a thing - but it would matter alongside other factors. The removing of the optional PSU statement from CommonApp could have meant a new policy but the language on the Admission page hasn’t changed.)

Short answer: if your son has reasons for PSU and can highlight in his statement his DECA experience as a reason for his major and why it’d be ideal to complete through Smeal, use the PSU App not CommonApp. It will not be more onerous for his school since he’ll have to input his transcript in STARS rather than have the school send it, and there’s no letter of recommendation to request.

[MYOS1634]

Wrt rigor he has what’s needed but the unweighted GPA would give a better sense of his chances since a 4.1 can mean anything from 2.8 unweighted (at schools where APs are weighted+2, DEs +1.5..) to 3.9 (at HS where AP/DEs=+0.2…) For best chances at Smeal, test optional, Fall, his unweighted GPA should be 3.75+. If 3.60-3.75, check Summer (if it’s affordable).
If he took the AP test for Calc include the scores somewhere (if 4 or 5) as well as any relevant other scores.
Unweighted is simply A (+/-)=4, B(+/-)= 3, C=2, total divided by number of courses taken.

[Mewuser]

I wanted to share an anecdotal data point for our son who is completing his LEAP summer right now.

Test optional.

Last year when he was applying to colleges he was on the fence about summer session for Penn State even though it was his top choice. I was convinced he’d need to check the box on summer because I felt he was on the ragged edge of getting into University Park, he did not want a branch campus and would not have gone under that scenario.

By truly incredible coincidence, another parent posted their kid’s stats that were identical to our son. And I do mean identical.

• same weighted and unweighted GPA
• same number of AP (6) and Honors (10) courses
• same extracurriculars
• same intended major (liberal arts)
• also in-state
• both checked Summer start

Our son was offered UPark and the other kid was offered a branch.

The only difference was that my son included his SAT score (1240) and the other applicant went test optional.

Now, I know what Universities may say but I personally don’t think test optional really means test blind. While my son’s SAT was not as strong as I’d have liked, it was consistent with the rest of his academic performance and I wanted him to submit it.

Was this the reason he got UPark and the other kid got a branch? No idea. But if I had to make a decision between two similar applicants and one showed an SAT score that lined up with everything else and the other chose not to submit, I’m taking the one with the SAT score.

I’m not telling anybody what they ought to do, I’m only sharing his experience.

[anxiousmom711]

Personally, I hate test optional policies, for this very reason. At a lot of schools, it doesn’t seem to be all that “optional”. I wish all the schools would either go back to requiring scores or become truly test blind. Optional seems to be the schools wanting to “have their cake and eat it too”.

[anxiousmom711]

Question in regards to the SRAR or STAR as it’s called now, which my daughter is getting ready to complete. She took Algebra 1 and French 1 in Middle School. She listed Algebra 1 with a P as indicated since our school doesn’t give actual grades in MS. She did not put French in because “that’s not on my transcript” (Alegbra 1 is on the transcript). Is that correct that she leaves French 1 off? Maybe it’s because that isn’t a required course for any colleges whereas Alegbra 1 is? Just want to make sure she is doing this right.

[MYOS1634]

Do include French 1/P otherwise it’ll look like she started in HS French 2. They do count the years/units.
If French 1 doesn’t appear on the HS transcript send the transcript where it appears after accepting admission.